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The Art of Golf Course Architecture A Perspective by Louis van der Walt, Golf Course Designer at the renowned Matkovich Group
THE ART OF GOLF COURSE Architecture
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Compacted gravel from site used as “waste areas” around fairways to increase playability, but limit irrigated surfaces at Mont Choisy Le Golf, situated in Grand Bay, Mauritius. Treated effluent water and a stylised natural landscape in conjunction with Patrick Watson, further reduces irrigation demand, yet creates a stunning showcase course using indigenous grasses and landscaping.
By Louis van der Walt, Golf Course Designer, Matkovich Group
Golf is not your ordinary Saturday afternoon sport. At some instances during a Saturday night live broadcast, it is not even worth watching or listening to. At times, golf can be as entertaining as watching grass grow, or paint dry…
But, there is another side to the story. There is a part which is filled with absolute mayhem and madness – roaring crowds, chanting fans, bright lights, as well as private jets, luxury hotels and obscene amounts of money.
The latter is, however, only reserved for the top elite of the sport, and not the reason why 99.9% of golfers all over the world took up this sport. The reason golf is played and loved by so many, is the fact that you are able to enjoy this game, from the age when you can walk, literally until the day you cannot walk anymore. It can be a great spectator sport, but at heart, is something meant to be played, not just viewed from the couch or by the big screen in the local pub, but rather being out there in the sun, or the rain, with fresh air and good company on a beautiful course surrounded by nature. The fact that golf has been invited back to the Olympics, would not change the lives of too many people, but the fact that millions all across the globe are able to play it and enjoy it every day, does.
But as readers of this monthly landscaping trade magazine, I am sure you are not really here to read about all the glitz and glam of the golfing superheroes. That part of the game provides many opportunities for television broadcasts, sponsorships, charity events, as well as many inspirational stories – it is a billion-dollar industry, which provides employment to millions across the globe, directly and indirectly. But what I would like to highlight and point out in this article, is that golf is often overlooked when people think of "sport and nature" in the same breath. Sports like mountain biking, trail running or climbing comes to mind. But I believe golf also deserves some recognition here. It is not played on a standard or measured "field" or "track", but every course provides a different arena. Unique to the natural landscape of that part of the world. It is at the mercy of the elements and whatever nature dishes up in terms of weather for the day. Every golf course is different, unique, and set within a different environment.
- The European Institute for Golf Course Architects(EIGC).
Golf courses are so varied, from city-like parks, to natural bushveld, semi desert areas to tropical jungles, dunes along the beach to courses set in rocky mountainous terrain, and the list goes on.
In this article, I would like to share a couple of thoughts on what makes this such a fascinating sport – in terms of the courses we play on, as well as a few bits and pieces of how one of the oldest games in the world is adapting, continuing to grow amid changing times.
By the end of 2019, South Africa, and the Western Cape in particular, had just gone through one of the worst droughts in the last century. Golf courses and golf course design might have been considered a controversial topic. But looking at it with some fresh, and perhaps a different perspective, provided some very relevant and meaningful insight into the way forward – for both the profession of golf course design, and for the game of golf itself.
As a designer, and a golfer, I know the value which golf and golf courses can and should add to the environment as well as our social well-being. I am passionate about that – and believe there is an opportunity for the golf industry to go back to its core values, to ensure it can stay relevant, going into the 21st century.
Today, these core values will revolve around water and people.
Going back to its roots
To find some clues, as to how golf and golf course design can be relevant, and add value to both community and environment, we need to go back to its roots, where it all started more than 500 years ago. We need to understand how the game originated, and what we can take from that to keep the game relevant today.
The way the original game of golf, and the first golf courses came about, can almost solely be credited to nature, with little interference by man (partly due to man’s limited ability to interfere and manipulate his surrounds a few hundred years ago).
Hermanus Golf Club – A renovation in the early 2000s turned an existing 18-hole course into a 27-hole development, with the course shaped around restored fynbos areas, and cut out of pine plantations and areas overrun with black wattle. Many ponds add to the constant effort to keep improving the quality of water and treated effluent which provides for irrigation water
played in the streets, in between working hours. But as cities started growing, these “leisure activities” were pushed out of the streets, and onto the “links” – the sandy strips of land sandwiched between towns and the ocean. There where no buildings could be built. Here, the courses followed the natural lay of the land. Holes and hazards were defined and provided by nature, the weather and grazing sheep.
The original course at St. Andrews, which is considered the “home of golf”, started developing in the early 15th century. Golf was even banned at one stage, around 1457, by King James the Second. The reason being that the young men of the time were spending too much time on the links and not enough time practicing archery! That lasted for almost 50 years, and the ban was lifted in 1502 by James the Fourth (who became a golfer himself). that a golf course should consist of 18 holes. Fast forward a couple of centuries, today a select number of course architects are again trying to create golf courses in a similar way as these original courses evolved – naturally. These courses react to the natural landscape to appear as if they have been a part of the landscape for centuries.
Courses where players or those walking along it, can find a connection to the outdoors, where they can unwind and recharge, and where they can appreciate nature again – for its diversity and contrast, for its uniqueness around every corner. For the outdoor space it creates, and on a golf course, for the way in which the surrounding environment defines it. A way in which nature is the ultimate star in the show. More of nature, and hopefully less of man’s desire to control nature. More green space, and less green desert…
At some point, the original course at St. Andrews consisted of 22 holes – there were no rules or standards back then which determined how many holes a course should have – but during the late 19th century, the starting and finishing holes were deemed too short and were changed by Old Tom Morris. He turned the layout into a course with 18 holes, and since then, the accepted standard having been adopted and accepted is
Omeya Golf course, Namibia. Waste bunkers create additional playable surfaces, and limits water requirements of the course.
Sustainability
The European Institute for Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) make a bold statement on their website: “Golf course sustainability, when applied to design, means thinking simultaneously about benefits to the environment, society, and the economy, so that we can continue to improve their positive value through future generations. In practical terms, this boils down to three key aims: to enhance nature, to conserve resources, and to provide multiple benefits for communities.”
These three simple goals applied through good golf course architecture, can result in courses which are more natural, with less negative impact, by restoring and creating more natural habitat. Such courses would require less intervention and man-made effort to maintain it. Golf and golf courses also need to contribute to society in a positive way – both economically and socially. Golf courses today, as well as the entire golf industry has got to strive and work towards these goals if it wants to keep growing and stay relevant.
Environmentally, golf courses need to start conserving water. More courses need to start using recycled or treated effluent as an irrigation source. Courses need to embrace more natural areas, and reduce or limit unnecessary maintained turf avoiding green deserts, but rather creating courses set within natural and living landscapes.
Socially, golf needs to address time and costs related to playing golf. Family life and individual time is under more pressure than ever before. If golf is to grow as a sport in the future, it needs to address this, as well as find ways to make the
game more inclusive and less intimidating for newcomers – both socially and financially. Fortunately, modern trends in the game are finding ways to do this. Golf is big enough to grow with modern times without losing its core values and appeal (which have drawn people to the sport for centuries). One of these core values is being able to spend active time outdoors with friends and family, surrounded by the natural environment.
These trends include shortened versions of the game. This includes and varies from the “play it forward” campaign, (where players are encouraged to use forward tees, fitting to their age or ability), as well as six-hole events, such as the GolfSixes Tournament on the European Tour. At a couple of tournaments, organisers have created a “stadium” effect, building grand stands able to seat tens of thousands of people around a single hole, encouraging a carnival-like atmosphere, with less do’s and don’ts than on the rest of the course or perhaps other tournaments. All these are efforts to make it easier and more inviting to get into the game – for both newcomers, and those who haven’t always got the time for a “normal” round of 18 holes. playing a normal nine-holes, players can try a shortened course from very different tee positions.
Bonanza Golf Club: A new course situated a mere 10 minute drive from Lusaka’s international airport, has become the new place to meet in, or rather out, of a traffic congested capital. With a minimal footprint in a natural environment, the course offers two standard loops of nine holes, but each loop has an option of both three or six holes starting and finishing near the clubhouse.
Afterwards, a braai and drinks are provided, allowing for a great time out with family and friends, all in under two hours. More opportunities such as a quick three-holes or six-holes before or after work, or with the kids should be encouraged by clubs. In cities or larger towns, even a shorter course, consisting of less than the standard 18 holes, will provide a welcome opportunity for getting out and active along with friends and family.
Changes in the golf rules are also encouraging ways to speed up the pace of play – slow play has become an 'achilles heel' of the sport on all levels, and it is not doing anyone any favours. Everyone will benefit if a round of golf can be played in three and a half hours again.
In the countries where golf originated, it is a part of life – it is not exclusive, elitist, or overly expensive. It doesn’t take an entire day to play, and courses are often integrated in the built form of towns. purest form of the game, but I believe there is room to provide a more relaxed and inclusive way to get people into the game, to make them realise how much fun it can be. This is where we need to show the critics that golf is not “the enemy” anymore, but that golf and golf courses can play a positive role in our environment and society. With greater collaboration between planning and design professionals, environmental authorities, and the community wherein any golf course exists, we can address and create courses (both old or new) which conserves our resources, enhances our environment, and improves local communities and economics.
